Infinity Train Book 2: Emma's Story

by OmegusXIII

When Emma Stephens was brought to the Infinity Train, she considered it more a curse than a blessing. And her bumping into a certain reflection that wanted nothing to do with her didn't help. But when danger strikes at them, they come to realize that the only way out is by working together to die trying.

3. The Black Market Car

A/N: Hello. :) Here is the next chapter of my story. Now, let's get the good news and bad news covered up. The good news is, Infinity Train Book 4 is coming out and will be streaming on April 15th. The bad news is, it's the last season. We all wanted there to be four more seasons, but as the crew's moved on to other projects, it seems like the last season. Although, Owen did hope that they'd pick up production on it again soon, so it's not entirely bad. Because there's still hope. So keep supporting Infinity Train with all you got. :) And also, as Book 4 is confirmed to be the last season at the moment, there's also been a change of plans to accommodate this. But I'll explain it at the end of this chapter. For now, I hope this chapter can take away whatever pain you have.

Chapter 2: The Black Market Car

Emma and M.T. had made for a good team since The Hunter's Lodge. They both started out disliking each other, but after being hunted, the two of them came to rely on each other. Emma looked to M.T. for guidance on getting her number down, which was a roller coaster in itself with what's happened recently while M.T. herself felt as though she had a lot more in common with her than she first thought. Neither of them liked to be limited based on what they're supposed to be, which Emma hadn't quite asked about yet. But as far as she's concerned, M.T. is just as much a person as she is, no matter how chromelike her skin was. To that end, they had each other's backs, including Visco's, whatever car they ended up in. And this car was no different.

When Emma and M.T. entered, they found themselves under attack by rabbit dwarves. They were armed to their buck-teeth with swords, axes, and battle armor. M.T. was easily able to dispatch them by herself, but since Emma didn't have the same force as she did, she turned to Visco for help. Part of the Slime gerbil's many shifting abilities was using itself to whip them away, stretching itself towards them before smacking them to the ground. In a short minute, the savage rabbits were brought down, allowing the three of them to press on. As they traveled down that room, they happened to find a forge in the middle of the room. When the trio got closer to it, one rabbit dwarf leapt at them with an axe as he shouted, but Visco stretched his upper body towards the rabbit before pushing him away with his head and then stretching back to where his lower body was. Emma looked to her companion before she smiled at him.

"Nice one."

As Visco squeaked in a way Emma knew he meant to say "thank you", M.T. got out a pen with a chain around it from her jacket pocket before setting it on the forge. Emma hadn't noticed the pen before, so it made her curious to know how she got it.

"Where'd you get that?"

M.T. was quick to answer her bluntly. She always preferred to be direct in her answers, so that people get the message that much faster. She always knew what's on her mind, and she wasn't afraid to speak it out loud, aside from events that were personal to her. But since the Hunter's Lodge Car, she found them easier to talk about with her.

"From the Bank Car. It's where I went my own way."

Emma had a feeling she knew what she meant. She recalled what M.T. had told her just outside the Hunters' car. They helped M.T. live her own life, however it was implied, and they accepted that she had a different path than them. Emma may not have had much friends back home, but she understood what it meant for them to do that for her.

"You must've had really great friends for them to be willing to let you go like that."

M.T. gave a slight blush to Emma, grateful that she never questioned her on why she'd leave them. In that way, she knew Emma was, and always will be, the only one who'd ever understand. She then began to clear her throat before she spoke again to her.

"Yeah, well, they have their lives, and I have mine."

Moving on, mostly to keep her blush from being noticed, M.T. got to work on the pen, using a can of black spray paint to color it before then attaching it to her right wrist as she looked at it with a smile. With that done, M.T. began to take off her jacket, allowing it to fall to the ground with a thud before her shirt went down next. Emma widened her eyes in surprise and cheeks turned red, particularly about how easy her clothes were to remove.

"Wait a second! All this time, your clothes can be removed? They're not just a part of you?"

M.T. looked back towards Emma oddly from her question. She didn't see it as much a surprise. And yet, she found it funny to see her blush like that. To see how hard it can go, M.T. spoke up to her jokingly.

"What, you thought I was naked the whole time?"

As expected, Emma's blush got worse before she closed her eyes, turned her eyes to the side awkwardly, and covered Visco's own eyes while she replied meekly.

"No…"

M.T. made a smile, amused by Emma's bashful look before she chuckled in a good-natured way, which was admittedly rare to see out of her.

"Oh, you're so cute."

Moving on, she began to take off her pants and shoes next. Although she was briefly surprised by how it was possible, Emma still had to wonder if it was necessary as she got out the folded up black shirt and pants from her jacket pockets and tossed them over her way. They were part of the rental gear from the earlier Seasons Car where M.T. initially tried to get her to stay for a day, and now that she knew M.T. was changing her clothes, she assumed they would be useful, especially for this moment.

"Uh, maybe it's just me, but can you tell me why we're doing this, M.T.?"

"Well, let's just say I'm not living anyone else's life anymore."

As M.T. picked up her shirt and pants, Emma cautiously lifted between her fingers. When she did, she saw the backside of the naked Chrome girl beginning to put on her pants on the ground. With what she knew about the human body, Emma suspected M.T.'s wasn't that different from her own, but with one notable difference: according to the shadows she appeared to have a metal organ where her region should be, assuming the shadow of it was anything to go by. Just a brief look at it was all it took for Emma to blush a storm before closing her fingers again with a muffled squeak of embarrassment, the noise that M.T. unfortunately heard as she looked over to her.

"Huh? What was that?"

Emma's blush turned worse as she fibbed, hoping M.T. didn't suspect anything.

"Nothing."

M.T. naturally had her doubts, especially with how she sounded. Emma sounded as though she was hiding from a ghost like a kid. That's when M.T. began to suspect something.

"You've been looking, haven't you?"

Emma didn't know what to answer her without making her angry, so she tried to add a reasonable excuse to cushion whatever blow M.T. would land on her for that.

"Yeah, but I only saw the back end for half a second. I swear."

M.T. took her turn to blush again. First, it was the awkward situation in the bathroom. Then, the hug, and now this. M.T. didn't know if she meant to look at her while she was getting dressed, but if it was making her this nervous, then she must be just as embarrassed as she is now. Still, she didn't like it when people were watching her get dressed, especially when she was naked for a short time. M.T. only put on her black shirt before she walked up to Emma in her new shirt and pants before she spoke softly to her.

"You're sure it was for half of a second?"

Emma gave her a nod as she answered nervously.

"Yeah."

M.T. let out a mental sigh of relief. If she saw any more, that would've been majorly embarrassing for her. Still, she had to do something to make sure Emma wouldn't have any ideas about peeping her in the future. So, she put her finger on her thumb and gave her a simple flick on the forehead, making her yelp from the rough force of it.

"Ooh!"

As Emma rubbed her forehead, M.T. spoke out to her.

"Good. But don't do that again, alright? It's awkward enough as it is."

"Okay…"

As M.T. walked away from her, Emma opened her eyes again while rubbing her forehead gently to soothe out the pain from the harder-than-expected flick. While M.T. was tearing out the sleeves from her shirt and moving a small red magnet on her arm, Emma couldn't help but wonder about what she saw from the shadows. Could she have been imagining things? She'd rather not ask about it to M.T. yet, lest she face her full wrath. For the time being, she kept that part a secret as M.T. had gotten the magnet to her foot while she put on her boots. After that, she used a small metallic driller nearby to get her ears pierced. The more Emma looked at her in her overall style, the worse her blush seemed to get as she spoke softly to herself.

"Be strong, Emma. Be strong…"

---

Then, outside the car, M.T. was walking down what appeared to be a ladder on the side of the car and to the wheel below it. Emma had a right to be concerned about it as she looked on from above.

"Are you sure you don't need help for this?!"

"It's fine, Emma! I can handle it!"

M.T. then looked underneath her to the wheel. It was understandable for her to be worried; if it were anyone else, they'd probably die doing it. But she wasn't like anyone else. And she had no hesitation to prove that as she closed her eyes and let herself fall onto the wheel. The wheel buffed out her hair completely as sparks flew out as a result before she got back up onto the ladder. M.T. then looked at her reflection in her own hand before making a smile, more than satisfied with her new look before she made her way back up. When she got back up to the car, Emma stood in awe at her new haircut with her new style.

"So, what do you think?"

Emma began to make a small blush on her cheeks again, unable to resist how beautiful she looked that way as she answered in a stunned look with a slight mumble.

"I think I'm gay."

"Huh?"

Realizing what just came out of her mouth, Emma blushed even harder as she tried to correct herself before she answered her with a smile.

"Ah! W-What I meant was… I think you look great."

Visco admitted that he liked her new appearance just as well as he gave out a squeak that sounded reminiscent of a wolf whistle. With that, Emma, Visco, and M.T. pressed on together throughout the cars. The first car they went through had many golden winged snakes flying around them in a desert with a pink sky around them. While M.T. was fascinated by them, Emma didn't find much to like. She never did like snakes back home, and she wasn't going to start now.

"Why did it have to be snakes?"

M.T. only made a scoff as she looked around them, though it did nothing to change Emma's personal feelings toward them.

"Come on, Emma. They're not all bad."

"I'd like to hear you say that when one of them flies right at us…"

Fortunately, they never did. By the time one had noticed them, they were already outside. But that didn't make the next car any less a surprise. The city was in ruins, and they were surrounded by giant monsters. Emma was quick to run from them, and it wasn't long before M.T. followed her cue. She isn't likely to get crushed, but that doesn't mean the monsters won't try to squash her, or even worse, Emma, if she happened to give them an aching foot. Emma ran by a broken mirror that was nearby, but M.T. stopped just nearby it before getting out her can of black spray paint and spraying all over the mirror. Emma looked back to see it and became confused.

"What's the holdup, M.T.?"

Just as she finished her painting, M.T. turned towards Emma and answered as best she could, although she had a face that showed she was nervous.

"Uh, just marking my territory with some paint."

Emma personally found it odd, but in a car like this, she'd find it best not to prioritize that over not being squished.

"Never mind. Let's just get out of here."

Emma and M.T. then ran quickly towards a ledge and both jumped just as the shark monster leapt at them, seeming as if it would eat them whole. But just before it could, Emma and M.T. only landed on the back of a large jellyfish before sliding down on it separately, ending up on the top of another one. The two of them were intrigued by their beautiful designs as they floated up on their jellyfish steeds while Visco popped out of Emma's jacket pocket and looked on in caution before the two of them slid off and fell to the ground.

While M.T. landed on the ground hard on her feet, Emma safely landed with Visco acting as a cushion below her before it reformed into a slime gerbil that rode on her shoulder as they walked by a farm. Inside it were living carrots that were doing a jig of sorts. One of them came up to the two of them and tried to invite them in. Of course, M.T. gave a polite declination with a hand raise. Emma was tempted to join them, but as much as she wanted to, she didn't think it to be a good thing to do when her mother isn't by her side. With that, the three of them went to the exit door and into the next car. This next car that they went to, though, happened to be more dainty than the fact, the whole scenery itself seemed to be made entirely out of embroideries.

Emma looked at the house to her left and became utterly astounded.

"Whoa… I didn't know you could make a house with embroideries. Looks like One-One really outdid himself, right M.T.?"

When Emma looked over to M.T., she was standing by what appeared to be a tree before she took something out of it and put it in her pocket. Emma became perplexed by this behavior. She'd never seen M.T. like this before. Emma tried to figure that out as she walked over to her. But when she did, she took notice of a pod far away. It was just like the pod that she came in.

"What's that?"

M.T. made another nervous face in response, assuming she saw her take down the poster.

"Uh, just an embroidery for the road…"

Odd as her behavior was starting to get, Emma didn't much care for that in comparison to the pod in front of her.

"Not that. That."

Emma pointed M.T. towards the pod in front of her, but this time, it appeared to be a lunch lady with brown hair in a hairnet as One-One spoke up to the lunch lady, much to Emma's surprise.

"Welcome aboard, new passenger!"

"And speaking of One-One."

"I'm your conductor, One!"

"One."

Emma looked at the video feed alongside M.T. from a far distance as One-One's message spoke to the lunch lady.

"Once you wipe those groggy little peepers, you'll probably have a lot of questions like,"

"Where am I? Why am I here?"

"'Are snacks provided'?"

The lunch lady found that last question unnecessary.

"I didn't ask that."

One-One only responded in his glad personality before his sad side interjected.

"For those of you talking to me like I'm there in real life, I'm not."

"I'm a cold, steely pre-recorded video."

"And this is a train where you sort out your problems. How about that number on your hand, huh? Pretty cool and green."

The lunch lady looked down to her hand in intrigue as the number glowed in her eyes.

"Every passenger has one."

Emma looked down to her own number, seeing it shift towards a "240", just 45 numbers lower than when she started as she made only a small smile as both sides of One-One spoke on. It wasn't good enough to be major progress, but it was progress nonetheless.

"The numbers are made by the train based on your life in order to help you have the most personalized experience we can offer. If you want to get home, get your number down to 0, and poof! Away you go."

"I'm a zero..."

"But always remember, there are lots of denizens along the way to help you on your journey."

The first image initially shown as examples were a sort of water-like being that somewhat resembled Visco, as well as a Corgi wearing a crown. M.T.'s face softened from seeing the latter before Emma took notice.

"Is something wrong, M.T.?"

M.T. only made a soft smile before she replied.

"Nah. I'm just wondering how that guy's doing…"

Emma looked back to the Corgi King and began to make a guess from how M.T. felt towards him.

"Was he one of your friends?"

"Yeah. Yeah, he was."

"Don't be afraid to reach out."

"Unless the denizen is one of those monsters with more teeth than body."

"Remember: you can't spell escape without companionship. Uh, companion-shape? Companion-scape?"

In that moment, One-One's sad voice began to give out the condition that came from watching the message. Emma didn't particularly find anything new from the message, much to her disappointment. A part of her hoped she'd decipher something new out of it, but alas, there was no such luck.

"By watching this recording, you've agreed to release the train of any liability-"

"Well, there's nothing new, there. Let's move on, yeah?"

---

Later, outside the car, M.T. was looking at her hand, seeing no number on it before she looked back up. When she did, she saw Emma stopping just in front of a door. M.T. was confused to see her just standing in place as she tried to move around her. M.T. saw her face then, showing a look that told her she was miffed. M.T. had to wonder what made her like that when all the other cars were nice for her to see.

"Uh, Emma? Are you doing okay?"

Emma looked up to see M.T., stirred out of her look.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I just realized something. We've been through about 50 cars by now, and I'm still not any closer to getting off the train."

M.T. found it hard to believe as she pointed out her number.

"But your number's been getting lower. That's a start, right?"

"Well, yeah, but it's not going down fast enough. At this rate, by the time I get my number to zero, my mom would be eaten alive already."

M.T. made a soft look of sympathy towards her. She remembered when she blew up at her over how she was torturing the Hunter. According to her, she was the only family she ever loved, whatever that was supposed to mean. But what hit her was how she was instantly labeled as someone who can't take care of her mother, let alone herself. Still, she had to wonder how Emma would be certain of that.

"About that… how do you know your mom can't handle it?"

Emma lowered her hand before she gave her answer.

"She couldn't handle herself for years. When I was a kid, my dad just… let's just say he removed himself from our lives. And his…"

M.T. showed a look of shock as Emma continued while Visco began to squeak softly.

"Ever since, my mom was a train wreck. No pun intended. Anyway, she couldn't handle things the way she could when dad was around anymore. If anything, she got worse; she even started smoking around the house, and she's not even bothering to hide that. So I had to be the one to help her. And I was so close, too…"

Emma made a small tear from her face before M.T. wiped it away with her finger.

"Hey, don't worry. We'll figure out what your problem is, and we'll find a way to get your number to zero faster. Who knows? Maybe this next car we go in might help."

Emma had a reason to doubt considering her luck with the other cars so far as she spoke softly.

"But what if it doesn't?"

"Hey. That's the thing about this train; there's always another car around the corner."

Emma made a gentle laugh at M.T.'s statement before she looked up to her, feeling some weight lifted off her.

"Thanks, M.T. I needed to hear that. Even if it was a bad joke."

M.T. made a feigned sour face as she spoke in fake offense while Emma laughed again at her reaction.

"What? It's not that bad of a joke."

---

With that, Emma and M.T. entered the next car, only to find a dark setting. It seemed to be a dark alleyway with several stands that sold various items and held neon signs above them, and they all appeared to be operated by anthropomorphic slugs. Even weirder was the leaves above them that blocked out the sky above. Through the holes between the leaves, Emma and M.T. could notice the caterpillars and snails roaming around them. Unfortunately, those slugs were also staring at her and Emma.

"Hey, girls. Don't be stuck up."

"Yeah, don't be stuck up."

Emma and M.T. didn't find their repetitive opinions comfortable as they spoke to each other.

"Wanna get away from here, M.T.?"

"Uh, yeah."

With that, the two of them quickly went away from the crowd as they did a racewalk. At the same time, a nearby seller was calling out to her potential customers. She was a voluptuous blue slug with whiskers on the side of her face.

"Fresh batch of passenger memory tapes, two for one, today only, real sad."

As luck would have it, Emma and M.T. stopped just at her stand, the two of them looking behind them.

"Good thing they didn't follow us. I don't know if I could take that the whole time we're in here."

"Yeah, me neither. Those guys were creeps."

The slug in charge of that stand made a devilish smirk. She noticed how shiny M.T. was and became enamored with her as she spoke up.

"Hey, sweetie. You're shiny. Let me get a closer look."

She got out a small spyglass to look at her. M.T. was getting anxious to be looked at that way, Emma would assume, and she couldn't stand that. Emma stood in front of her and smacked the spyglass to the floor, causing it to break and shatter to the floor.

"She's not for sale, creep!"

The slug was taken aback by Emma's defense for M.T. as she slithered back some and tried to alleviate the situation.

"Hey, hey! Let's not get too crazy, now. I just wanted to look at your friend."

That didn't make Emma feel any better as she glared at the shady slug. She saw an unsavory look of desire towards M.T., and she wasn't willing to let anyone look at M.T. that way.

"Well, she never asked you to. It's her choice if you can look at her, not yours."

While Emma told off the slug, M.T. got out her black spray paint can and sprayed on the broken mirror pieces. For whatever reason, she didn't find it necessary to take the risk of looking into either one of them. Meanwhile, the shady slug tried to bargain her way out as she picked up a tape on her stand and tried to hand it to her, fearing a physical confrontation was on the way.

"Come on! At least let me negotiate! I'll give you a tape to sweeten the deal!"

Emma didn't see any reason to accept that deal. That would mean giving M.T. up for what she thought at the time to be a worthless tape. She didn't even have a VCR to plug it into, even if she were to consider it. She forced the tape from her stub and held it.

"You really think I'd sell my friend for some tape?! How cheap do you think I am?!"

"But it's not just any tape!"

"I don't care what tape it is! I'm not trading my friend for anything!"

In that moment, M.T. took notice of what Emma was about to smash into the ground, and an idea dawned on her. Emma was wondering all that time what her problem was since getting on the train. And she knew that if this tape happened to be here, her own tape might be somewhere in here as well.

"Emma, wait!"

Emma looked towards M.T. in befuddlement. Why would she try to stop her from keeping her away from that shady slug?

"What? What is it?"

"At least look at the label."

Emma was confused to hear her say this. But, nonetheless, Emma took a chance on looking at it. When she did, she found a green word on it: "Jack". There was another word beside it, but it appeared to be in a staticky state that made it impossible for her to read. Emma became confused as she spoke the words aloud before looking at the slug.

"'Jack'? What kind of tape is this?"

"That's what I was trying to tell you. These are memory tapes."

"Memory tapes?"

"Yep. Straight from The Tape Car. These babies hold the memories of every passenger that comes on board. Even the saucy ones…"

The shady slug gave a chuckle that sent shivers into Emma's spine. But barring that, Emma looked over to M.T. as she explained.

"See? There's your answer right there. If that guy's tape is here, maybe we'll find yours here, too. Then we can figure out what your problem is."

Emma couldn't believe what she was hearing. After more than fifty cars, she'd finally found the answer to her problem. To think she wouldn't have found out if she'd smashed it. As much as she wanted to believe it, though, she still had to wonder if it was for real.

"How do you know?"

M.T. made a slight pause as she tried to figure out what to say. The pause didn't quite last long as she gave her answer.

"Well, it's how I helped Tulip figure out her problem."

Emma raised an eyebrow in curiosity. She hadn't heard that name before, so she can quickly assume it was one thing.

"Tulip? Was she one of your friends?"

"In a sense, yeah. Anyway, she was in the same position you were. Her number was in the 80's when she looked at one. The next thing she knew, her number went down like crazy. I think it stopped like in the 20's or something. Just a guess."

Emma widened her eyes at this information. Granted it was a guess, but if M.T. was right about the memory tapes, then maybe she'd finally figure out why she was on the train, and then she can get off the train and back to her mother! Amidst Emma's realization, the shady slug spoke to her again.

"So, uh, do you want a tape? It's two for one. Today only."

Emma quickly looked towards the shady slug before she began to reconsider her offer. Of course, she's still adamant about not trading M.T. for it, but maybe she could come up with new terms that'll work out better. At least, she hoped she would after flipping out at her.

"Okay. Maybe we got off on the wrong foot. Do you have any tape that says, 'Emma Stephens'?"

The shady slug gave Emma a smug face as she spoke to her.

"That depends; how badly do you want it?"

The shady slug still kept her eyes on M.T., making her cringe before Emma interjected her again.

"I'm still not gonna sell you my friend, but maybe we can make a new deal."

The slug narrowed her eyestalks, considering her offer before she replied.

"I'm listening."

Emma tried hard to think about what the slug would want more than M.T. She looked all around the car, but there wasn't anything that immediately came to mind. Then, she thought of a way around it. If she could find out what she wanted from her, she could get that and use it to get her own tape. Emma tried to play her cards right as she tried to sound convincing.

"I'll level with you first. Being a passenger, I don't have much else to offer that can pay enough. But what if I could get you something better than M.T.? Something you've wanted for a long time? I don't have it on me at the moment, but if you're willing to take the chance, I can maybe get it for you. And in exchange, you give me… well, the offer's two-for-one, is that what you said? So, how about this tape that I have in my hand, and the one that says 'Emma Stephens' on it? That sound good to you?"

The shady slug put her stub on what one can call a chin as it appeared to be thinking about her offer again. Emma grew a bit anxious, fearing she wouldn't accept the offer. But what she had to say put those fears to rest.

"Actually, now that you say that, there is one thing I've always wanted."

Emma drew a mental sigh of relief. She'd taken the bait.

"What is it? Name your price."

The slug pointed over towards another stand where its owner, a red-brown slug, was placing boxes of what appeared to be dark purple jam on the stand, and the label on them was called "Passion Fruit Jam".

"See Yukon over there? He's got that Passion Fruit Jam a few stands away. He always sells them to Des from Cupid's Arrow. Plus, Yukon uses its leftovers to make some outstanding tea."

M.T. became confused over that stand owner's methods.

"Wait. He uses jam with tea?"

"I know. Crazy. But there's a method to the madness, from what I heard."

M.T. and Emma looked to the slug in curiosity before the latter spoke up.

"What exactly did you hear?"

"One drink, and you'll forget about all your problems. That's a double-business right there. But I also heard that when you taste it raw, you'll feel bliss like you never imagined. I wanna get it so bad, but I can't leave the stand without upsetting my customers. So, if you can get that and bring one over to me, no questions asked, then I might give you the tapes you're looking for."

Emma considered it a good start. If she can somehow get that Passion Fruit Jam and give it to her, she'd get the tapes and figure out her problem. Still, Emma had to be cautious as she inquired about how to obtain them.

"Okay. How do we get them?"

It was then that the shady slug lady gave her a look that told her to be careful as she answered.

"You'll just have to talk with him, ask for his product. As far as he knows, you'll just be another customer to him."

Somehow, the thought made Emma shudder. She didn't want to know exactly what it means, but at the moment, there's no other option to make the deal work. All she could do was gulp nervously before she spoke up.

"Um, isn't there a better-?"

Before Emma could finish her question, the shady slug piped up in interjection.

"Hey! I said no questions asked! But I'll let it slide, since you want to know so badly. It shouldn't be too hard for you; Yukon's a people person nowadays."

Emma looked back behind him to see Yukon calling out to the potential customers.

"Looking for a little something to spice up your life? Try a little Passion Fruit Jam! A proud sponsor of Cupid's Arrow!"

In that moment, a woman came closer to Yukon lovingly. She was wearing a scarlet fancy short buttoned tank top, black tight shorts, fishnet stockings, blood red leather fingerless gloves, red leather high heel boots, a black hair band, and a charm bracelet. The woman held onto his stub gently as she spoke softly.

"Is it going to be much longer, babe?"

"Oh, not much longer, love. Just wait a bit longer, and then I'm all yours."

Emma saw the relationship between the two, and she couldn't help but bear a smile at this. These two seemed like they were really happy to be with each other, or at the very least, seeing this at a stand seemed more wholesome than the others who appeared to be cutthroat. It didn't seem like too much of a difficult task. This whole thing might as well be easy compared to what she'd been through.

"Well, if that's all you want, then I'm in."

Hearing this, the shady slug became practically overjoyed.

"Really? You mean you'll get it for me?"

"Sure. It doesn't seem like it'll be too hard."

Emma's answer made the slug beam like a cheshire cat.

"Thank you so much."

But as happy as the slug appeared to be, M.T. found it oddly suspicious as she leaned over to her.

"Emma, are you sure it's a good idea?"

Emma wasn't entirely sure herself. She didn't forget what the slug was trying to do to her. But she figured that must be why she wanted that jam.

"I don't know. But it's the only way we could get my tape and get that slug to leave you alone. Besides, Yukon and his friend do look kinda cute together."

Emma's point was further confirmed as Yukon's assistant handed out a jar of Pleasure Fruit Jam to another slug at the stand with a smile before she and Yukon spoke out to him.

"Thank you for shopping with us."

"You'll get your satisfaction guaranteed or your money back."

The assistant then hugged Yukon in a loving way, making Emma smile a bit while M.T. wasn't lost on the obvious.

"You know she's dating a slug, right?"

"Yeah, but it doesn't seem to bother her. You know what they say: love is in the eye of the beholder."

M.T. began to make a slight blush from hearing this. Emma didn't know it at the time, but since she'd tried to take the bullet for her back at the Hunter's Lodge, M.T. has begun to develop a crush on her. Beyond the fact that she can be just as tough as her when she needed to be, she's somehow related more to her than anyone else, as far as passengers go. M.T. didn't quite know how to work that out, and she really didn't think this crush could last for long. And yet, she still didn't want to imagine her going through this thing alone.

"Well, yeah, but not everything is what they appear to be on this train."

Emma was well aware of that lesson herself.

"You don't need to remind me. I thought those Hunters used those passengers as trophies just for the fun of it. But I knew better since then."

Emma did make a good point, M.T. thought. But she still can't help worrying over her. Although, it didn't appear too dangerous. Nothing is what they seemed to be on this train. And it's because of this that M.T. began to feel she shouldn't act too quickly on impulse.

"Well… alright. But I'm coming with you. Just to be sure, or whatever."

Emma didn't see any problem with that. But as much as she liked having her around, she didn't see any immediate reason to be worried. Still, she can't be too careful.

"That's fine by me. But it's gonna be alright. And even if they're not, I can always count on you to help me out. You know that, right?"

M.T. made a small smile towards Emma before she nodded in response. Of course she'd have her back. She normally didn't owe anyone anything, but Emma was always there for her. M.T. at least owed her that much. Well, until she gets her number to zero, that is. From there, she hoped that Emma would be able to help her mother while she herself moved on with her own life.

"Yeah. All I'm saying is just be careful, okay?"

"Don't worry. I will."

Emma then turned back to the slug before handing out the tape to her.

"Just be sure to hold onto that for me. I'm planning on getting that tape, too."

The shady slug gave her a smirk while she agreed to the terms.

"Whatever you say. It is two-for-one, after all…"

---

With that, Emma and M.t. walked away from the slug and towards Yukon's stand. On the way there, she had to wonder why Emma would need Jack's tape as well.

"Okay, I understand why you'd need your tape, but why his?"

"It's just to test it out and be sure nothing crazy is gonna happen. After that, then I'll use my own tape. Assuming we get it, that is."

Just then, in that moment, Emma bumped into someone, making her give an "oof!" before that someone turned around and looked at her in irritation.

"Hey! Why don't you watch where you're walking?"

He was an old man with a few wrinkles in his face, grey hair, and a strong, tall body type, who also wore blue jeans, a white tank top, brown boots, a black leather jacket, and black sunglasses in his jacket pocket along with his switchblade. M.T. didn't much like the look of that man at all, let alone how he was acting. Naturally, she wasn't afraid to stand up to him.

"How about you watch where you're standing?!"

Emma saw the confrontation coming a mile away, and she knew where it would lead. Determined to avoid it, she tried to apologize to him.

"No, M.T. It's okay. Let's not lose our heads here. I just wasn't watching where I was going, that's all. Sorry about that."

The old man became a bit perplexed as he spoke up to her while setting his switchblade back in his pocket.

"Uh… okay. Just try to keep your eyes open around here, especially around Yukon."

Emma looked back to Yukon in curiosity. He didn't appear to be much of a threat, especially not with how much his assistant seemed to care about him. She was practically happy to be close to him. Although M.T. felt it to be a bit off, letting out a short gag mostly due to her being in love with a slug, Emma looked up to the old man and spoke her mind.

"But he doesn't seem dangerous."

"That's exactly what I mean, kid. Out here, you can't exactly rely on how things look. One thing can easily be another. And by the time you realize that, you'd be too late."

Emma felt a cold air in the atmosphere from the old man's words of wisdom. Something about them unsettled her as she tried to process the meaning behind them.

"Uh… what do you mean?"

The old man simply gave her an exasperated sigh before he replied.

"Look, just pay attention to the signs around you. You'll know what I mean soon enough. Right now, I have other business to take care of. So, be careful, you two. This train is a dangerous place."

The man then began to walk away from the two of them. Once he was far away, M.T. made a scoff, thinking he was only repeating what they knew by now.

"I'm pretty sure we'll be just fine. Right, Em?"

Emma was still looking behind her to watch as the old man walked away. She kept her gaze on him a few seconds before M.T. snapped her out of it.

"Hey, Emma."

Her voice shook Emma out of her momentary lapse before she looked back to her friend.

"Huh? What's up?"

"Are you okay? You looked like you were staring out into space for a second there."

"Oh, sorry. It's just… Well, something about that guy looked so… familiar."

M.T. looked back towards the guy who walked away before looking back to Emma.

"You mean you know this guy somehow?"

Emma couldn't rightly figure that out. In a way, he was familiar to her, but at the same time, he wasn't. This made it hard for Emma to decide on the answer.

"No. I mean, yes? Ugh. I don't know… must be some kind of deja vu. But I think we'll worry about that later. Right now, we got a tape to trade some jam for."

M.T. nodded in agreement with her as the two of them headed to Yukon's stand. When they got there, Yukon was still calling out to any potential customers.

"Don't be shy; give this beautiful jam a try."

Fortunately for him, there happened to be two such customers in front of him: Emma and M.T.

"Oh, hello, loves. Isn't it a beautiful day today?"

Emma gave Yukon a smile his way while M.T. made a stoic look as they answered.

"Well, yeah. It kinda is."

"It's kinda hard to tell with the sky, though."

"Oh, I know. Most times it's hard to tell with that place, am I right?"

As Yukon spoke to M.T., Emma noticed his assistant looking more stiff than when she last saw her. It was almost like she was a statue. Seeing this behavior from her was a bit perplexing to her.

"Uh, is she doing okay?"

Yukon was initially confused by what Emma asked him until he noticed her look.

"Huh? Oh, that. Yeah, that's a thing that happens sometimes. It's alright, Crystal. You can talk to them."

Not long after, Crystal looked over to Emma and M.T. before putting on a smile as she spoke out suddenly.

"Hello!"

Emma and M.T. backed up in surprise as they exclaimed before Crystal spoke to them again while she held out her right hand.

"It's nice to see you here today."

Emma looked at her right hand and noticed a number on it. It was a "130", a notch lower than her "285", but it is a vast improvement. Emma reached her hand out to shake Crystal's though she was still recovering from the surprise hello.

"Uh… yeah. It's nice to see you, too."

Yukon then spoke up to the duo as he got out a spoon from his drawer underneath the stand's shelf and scooped a dip from it before offering it to them.

"So, are you two looking for free samples? Because I've got one with your names on it."

Emma was about to reach her hand out for it but she stopped herself before she began to reconsider as she brushed her hand on her chin.

"Hmm…"

Yukon saw her look of skepticism and began to feel confused by it.

"Uh, is there something wrong, miss?"

"No. I'm just wondering what this stuff really does."

Yukon only made a hearty laugh as he pointed out the jam's purpose.

"Well, get ready to be educated, my friend. This Passion Fruit Jam is the necessary component in your life for all your problems. You can spread it on bread for your PB & J, you can stir it in tea. Heck, you can even eat it from your own hands!"

Emma simply raised an eyebrow before she asked another question, showing disinterest.

"Well, what can it do to solve said problems other than hunger?"

Yukon looked left and right for a bit before he motioned his stub for Emma to get closer before he whispered.

"I'll let you in on something, love. This jam is high-quality stuff. It can actually help people forget their troubles, like, literally. On top of that, you can also use it to have some fun with your friend, huh?"

M.T. overheard this and began to blush at the very idea of it as much as Emma did. She could practically picture Emma and her being together, the both of them holding each other tight, caressing their bodies, and letting their lips touch each other. That made her crush go even worse as she shook her head and tried not to think of it any more and piped up.

"Okay! Let's not get carried away, now."

Emma shook her mind out of that, too before she got back to the matter at hand.

"Right. Well, if it is what you say it is, assuming that's true, how much would that happen to cost?"

"Just $10."

Emma seemed to consider the offer. Normally, it would be a reasonable price, but she didn't have the money to buy it. That's when she got an idea and looked towards the jam, seemingly in disinterest.

"$10? For a jar of jam? I don't know…"

Yukon looked at her with a nervous emotion on his face as he spoke in a similar way.

"W-What do you mean you don't know?"

"I mean, the jam's good overall, but… it doesn't look like it's selling too hard. The rest of the market doesn't seem interested in buying it, so..."

This made Yukon become frightened as M.T. looked over to her in curiosity.

"How are you doing that?"

"I've had some shopping experience. That's all I can say."

Emma then gave M.T. a wink before Yukon spoke to her nervously again.

"A- Are you saying there's something wrong with my jam?"

"Oh, no. I'm just saying if it doesn't work out, then maybe I can find a way to, uh… find a better price. Of course, it would depend on the mistakes I see on the jar that holds the jelly or the jam itself. Then, I'll have to determine if the effect is even worth it afterwards."

Emma then took a closer look at a nearby jar that held the Passion Fruit Jam before examining it as she hummed to herself while Yukon looked on in worry. The first thing she noticed was that there seemed to be a small crack on the jar, but it wasn't big enough to allow any of it to leak. Then came the lid. Emma looked at the indent around the ring before she picked up the spoon Yukon held to her earlier. She began tapping on it, making a dull sound before Emma lowered her eyebrows and set the jar down before giving him her opinion.

"Well, there's a crack in the jar but it isn't too big. And the lids for them appear to be used, not to mention they haven't been properly sealed. Beyond that, the jam looks fine, but if the effect happens to backfire, it should be sold at a reasonable price where people won't get vicious, so…"

Yukon was beginning to sweat up a storm as he became anxious to hear her answer.

"So, what?"

"So, I think the more reasonable price for it is… $5."

Somehow, that snapped something in Yukon. He couldn't sit right with the price as he made his protest.

"$5?! Listen, I know the equipment's a bit shoddy, but that price is an insult to this jam! And I say, moving forward, the price is $9!"

Emma rolled her eyes towards him with a smirk as she countered his wager with her own.

"Oh, but how do you know that for sure? Because unless you give me verification yourself, the price is now $4."

Yukon went up closer to Emma as he tried to raise the price while Emma tried to lower it. The exchange went on back and forth between the two within a matter of seconds.

"I say $8!"

"$3."

"$7!"

"$2."

"$6.50!"

"$1."

That price grinded Yukon's gears. That price would be barely enough to get his business off the ground, let alone keep up with the orders from such a cheap price. He made an exaggerated gasp before he spoke to her with a livid tone.

"You madwoman. Alright, alright. Let's not get hysterical. You're clearly just uneducated. So how about this? I'll show you why this jam is spectacular, and after that, you two can have a free jar of jam each. And since you're the one who keeps running your mouth, you'll have to take the tour yourself. That work for you?"

Emma looked towards M.T. with a smiling wink, believing her gambit has paid off. Then, she looked back to Yukon before she answered him.

"It's a deal."

With that, Yukon opened the small door by the shelf before gesturing Emma inside.

"Alright, step inside. Crystal, come with me."

Crystal gave Yukon an affectionate smile as she replied and went over to his side.

"Right away, honey."

Before Emma could walk inside, M.T. grabbed her by the arm and gave her a cautious look. She still didn't trust the fact that Crystal was into Yukon. If anything, it set off red flags for her.

"Emma, are you sure you know what you're doing? That guy's letting you in his hut..."

"It'll be fine, M.T. Crystal seems okay with him. Besides, if anything happens, I'll let you know, okay?"

M.T. looked back to Crystal, seeing her hug Yukon as his stubs caressed her back while she gave out a chuckling moan before she shuddered at the image and turned back to Emma, who only acknowledged her personal opinion about it with a nod.

"You better. I don't like the looks of that."

"Noted. BRB."

Emma walked into the stand before closing the door and following Yukon as he spoke to her while making a polite gesture to Emma and Crystal.

"Ladies first. I promise, after you see how great it is, you're gonna want this stuff for the rest of your life."

"That sounds like a bold claim. But if you're willing to prove it, I'm more than happy to see for myself."

After the two of them entered, Yukon put on a devilish smile.

"Oh, you have no idea."

Yukon then snickered to himself before closing the door, leaving M.T. with a suspicious and worried look. Somehow, she had a feeling that letting her go in by herself was a mistake. M.T. made a hard glare where the door closed before she spoke to herself.

"Yeah, right. Like I'm just gonna stay here."

---

Meanwhile, inside the hut, Emma was quite taken by the decor of the hut considering how the rest of the car looked. Although the ceiling consisted of leaves where the caterpillars roamed above, the shelves that held countless jars of jam were sturdy, in addition to the teacups on another shelf. And the table at the center of it appeared just as well-made with two wooden chairs. Emma couldn't help but feel amazed by the living space Yukon and Crystal shared, even if it did appear to lack the common necessity of a bed and kitchen.

"Wow. It doesn't look that bad."

Yukon showed Emma over to the table as he replied to her with a smile on his face.

"I'm glad you like it. We wanted to go with a rustic, natural kind of look, you know."

While he led Emma to the table, M.T. cautiously opened the door and peeked out of the corner as Yukon and Emma sat on the chairs while Crystal was left standing up. While they sat down, Emma looked up to Crystal, becoming confused as to why she couldn't have a seat.

"Uh… doesn't Crystal get a seat?"

Crystal looked down to Emma before she answered.

"Oh, no. It's fine. It won't take too long anyway."

Yukon gave her a smile. He seemed appreciative of the fact that she was willing to give up her seat.

"That's the spirit, love. Can you bring us some jam and tea?"

"Right away."

Crystal headed straight for the shelves behind them, looking too eager to get the tea and jam Yukon requested. While Crystal was fetching them, Emma looked over to Yukon and became curious. As nice as it is to see the two of them happy together, she wanted to know how it all started.

"She seems nice."

"Right? She's a true lady, ain't she?"

While Emma conversed with Yukon, M.T. slowly walked into the hut, noticing Crystal was fetching the tea as she hummed to herself. As luck would have it, nobody seemed to notice her as Crystal's back was on M.T. and both Emma and Yukon were facing each other horizontally from her angle. That, and the one person she didn't want to see her had his back turned as well. It didn't give her any room for her to hide, not that she planned to, but it seemed to work out for her. At the very least, she'll be able to keep an eye on her. So, she simply leaned against the wall near the door while Emma inquired to him about Crystal.

"So, uh… how long have you two known each other?"

Yukon put his stubs together as he explained his story. And as he did, Emma looked over to her left, seeing M.T. leaning near the door. She put on a look of surprise momentarily, but didn't want to risk anything that could upset the deal by alerting him of her presence. For the moment, she had to acknowledge that M.T. was going to keep an eye on her, whether she wanted her to or not as she turned back to Yukon.

"Well, it's funny you should ask that, really. You see, a couple of months ago, Crystal's a passenger who didn't have much going for her back home. When I first saw her, I just… oh, I felt bad for the poor girl, so I took her in. She didn't quite fancy me at first, but after she tasted my amazing jam, oh! She fell in love with me almost immediately. That's how good this stuff is. It can bring people together."

Emma couldn't help but smile at the answer. Although, M.T. was more likely to disagree. She didn't find this to be enjoyable at all; she's convinced that Crystal simply threw her lot in with Yukon because she didn't want to have to do anything herself. But then again, who would throw in their lot with him? M.T. kept a close eye on Crystal as she watched her place the jam beside the tea while she moved her hips in a strange way. Emma was watching, too, and she became puzzled enough to ask Yukon about this odd habit.

"Does she do that a lot, Yukon?"

"Yeah. It's what helps her focus. Plus, the way she's moving is… well, it's oddly hypnotic. Don't you agree?"

Emma looked back to Crystal, seeing her twerk her hips gently before a blush came over her as she answered.

"Uh… I guess."

Trying to divert attention, she took notice of Crystal adding the jam into one cup while leaving the other cup empty before she finished her hip moving before she placed the tea and jam on the table, with the jam-infused tea sitting just in front of Emma.

"There you two go."

Yukon looked up to Crystal with a smile before he spoke up.

"Ah, thanks, Crystal."

Crystal and Yukon then leaned towards each other before making a short kiss on the lips, making M.T. gag a bit at the sight before holding her hand to her mouth to keep from upchucking and making a noise in general. Yukon then held his stub up to her face.

"There's gonna be more of that later."

Crystal then gave him a lustful look as she smiled the same way.

"I can't wait."

While Crystal made a soft laugh of lust, Emma began to realize what the old man told her before she entered.

"Out here, you can't exactly rely on how things look. One thing can easily be another. And by the time you realize that, you'd be too late."

Emma looked to the jam in front of her and began to piece it all together. Crystal wasn't just not into him when the first met; she must have tried to get away from him. But after she tasted the jam, her eyes are now almost lifeless, like she's become a slave to him. And she was about to be slave number two. She looked over to M.T. on her left as she became nervous, seeing her give a look that told her she's going to put an end to it. But Emma then looked back to the jam before an idea came upon her.

As far as these two know, M.T. was still waiting outside. In Crystal's case, she currently isn't allowed to do anything other than what Yukon told her, while Yukon himself was oblivious. Or so it seemed until he piped up.

"Oi! What are you looking at?"

Emma made a nervous look as she tried to come up with an answer.

"Uh…"

Yukon turned around to see M.T., making her give a soft gasp before turning back to Emma.

"N-No seriously. What are you looking at? My eyes aren't very good, being all near-sighted and such. I should probably get some glasses."

Emma made a collective sigh of relief before she signaled to M.T. that she had a plan as she answered him.

"Oh, nothing. Just uh… just wondering if the offer's still on the table."

"Eh? What offer?"

"You know, our… bargain? We were kinda going back-and-forth a bit there."

Yukon widened his eyestalks in remembrance before he replied.

"Oh, yeah. Bet you feel pretty stupid, don't you?"

Seeing Yukon's smug look, Emma dug into her pocket and got out a few coins in her pocket. They were merely pocket change from when she ran away, but she had a feeling she could convince Yukon that these were rare, or as rare as they can be, seeing as they don't exist on the train that she knew of.

"Uh… yeah. Sorry for doubting you. Let me just pay for-"

Before she could finish, Emma dropped the coins onto the floor, becoming embarrassed as Yukon became puzzled and she tried to apologize.

"Oh! I am so sorry about that."

"No, no. It's fine. Crystal, lend me a hand here, please."

"Okay."

As Crystal and Yukon picked up the coins that fell, Emma made a small smirk before she took the two cups and switched them over, making M.T. look on in puzzlement. To reassure her, Emma gave her a wink before she understood. Emma was trying to get Yukon to drink the jam instead of her. Though, she was still concerned about if it would actually work. For Emma, there's only one way to find out. M.T. reluctantly had to agree as she nodded her head with worry on her face. Once the coins were picked up, Yukon and Crystal looked back up to Emma before the former spoke to her.

"Here we are. Now, then, this is the payment you have?"

Emma began to sweat nervously, afraid he'd assume the game was afoot.

"Uh, yeah. It's all I had in my pocket. But I'm sure it'll be worth a lot here."

Yukon raised his eyestalk as he gazed at Emma, seemingly in suspicion.

"Hmm… You don't think I know what's going on here?"

Emma's sweat came out even worse as she stammered.

"What? W-What are you talking about?"

Emma's eyes looked over to M.T., letting her know she needed her help. Her panic was all she needed to know as M.T. cautiously stepped up towards Yukon to ambush him. But his reply put the both of them to rest.

"You don't think I know… these coins are actually worth less? Crystal told me about the currency you have."

Emma was thankfully blessed by this close call. He didn't seem aware of the switcheroo she pulled on him.

"Oh, you mean that? Well, a lot of us can't afford to be rich back home, so…"

Yukon nodded his head in understanding.

"No, no. It's fine. I get it. I'm sure I'll find some use for these things on the train. Now, where were we?"

Emma took her drink and held it up to Yukon as she replied.

"Uh, we were about to drink."

"Ah, yes. You especially look like you need it. The train can be stressful here, alright. Or maybe… you've been stressed out enough back home, haven't you?"

Emma knew he wasn't wrong there. Her head hung itself down as she remembered how hard life was back home. Her mother was unable to take care of herself for a long time, so she had to step in and help. And then, that chance was taken away. She didn't know how else to keep her promise other than being by her side. She might as well have broken it.

"More than you know…"

"Well, love, this tea here can actually help you with that. By itself, it helps connect people, but if you mix it with this chamomile tea in particular, it helps you forget your stress, more specifically… what caused it."

Emma looked down to her tea, or rather Yukon's tea, and stared at the reflection. If she were to forget everything, would she really be at peace? Would it make her number go down? And if so, would she even get off the train if she didn't have a problem to begin with?

"You mean, if I drink this, I'd just forget about it?"

"You'd forget ALL of it. Nothing would hurt you anymore. Wouldn't that be nice?"

Emma made a small sigh before she answered with a smile.

"Yeah. I guess it would be. To moving on."

Yukon then held up his own drink next as he spoke in kind.

"To moving on."

With that, the two began to drink their cups of tea while M.T. looked on. After a brief moment, the two set their cups down and looked to each other with Yukon putting on a smirk of a smile. This alone was enough to let Emma know that she was right about him trying to trick her into drinking it. Of course, he hadn't realized that it was turned against him for the moment, so she tried to convince him, which shouldn't be too hard since the tea itself, as well as its effects, was new to her. She began to feel her stress fade away as she slumped down on her chair with Yukon speaking up to her.

"Feeling better already, are ya?"

"Well… yeah. It feels great. But… how did you know I had something I'd rather forget?"

Yukon sat up on his chair as he spoke to her.

"Well, everyone's got something they'd rather forget; it's a known fact. But here, you can."

Emma began to gently lie on the back of the chair as she softly let her breath out, as if she took in a breath of fresh air. The tea was working perfectly, even without the jam. Then, she turned to Yukon.

"But what about you? Did you ever want to forget something?"

While Yukon gave his answer, Emma looked over to M.T., giving her a look that told her everything was going alright. Relieved that she didn't take the tainted tea, M.T. smiled back at her.

"Mmm… let me tell you something this way. When a child goes looking for trouble, they always… they always…"

Before Yukon could say anymore, he made a dumbfounded look; he appeared as though he'd forgotten something. Emma had a feeling the jam-infused tea must be making its work on him.

"What was I saying…? Y-You have a question for me?"

Crystal made a confused look before she reiterated what Emma asked before.

"Uh, she was asking what you wanted to forget."

"Yes. That was it. You may or may not have noticed, but this train has just as many bad passengers as there are good ones. I had my fill of both of them before, but the ones I'd rather forget about… are the Scarecrows."

The Scarecrows again. Emma heard that twice now, and so did M.T. The last time she heard of them, they attacked the Hunters and destroyed their way of life. Now, she's hearing about them again. What kind of people were the Scarecrows, really? She could've thought more on that, but Yukon inquired to her again.

"Did, um… did you drink your tea yet?"

Emma made a soft look as she tried to answer.

"Um… sorta. But I think you might've beaten me to it."

Yukon looked at her in befuddlement before he came to a realization. When he did, he looked at the cups, seeing that there wasn't a trace of jam in Emma's cup, but there was in his own. Yukon began to look at her in shock.

"You switched our drinks?!"

Emma then stood up from the table proudly as she took the jar of jam Yukon gave her and answered him.

"You're not wrong about me wanting to forget something. But if I forget why I am who I am, then it's not worth any price."

M.T. made a smile, happy to hear Emma's answer. But Yukon was not happy with that answer at all.

"Foolish child!"

Yukon grabbed Emma by the arm with his long stub, pulling her close to his body as she struggled to break free. As her struggle proved to be in vain, Emma looked over to M.T. and shouted to her.

"Let me go! M.T.!"

That was more than enough cue for M.T. to spring into action as she balled her right hand into a fist and charged at him.

"You must forget! I'll make you forget! You just-!"

Suddenly, Yukon was punched to the ground by M.T., knocking the slug out cold and taking Crystal by surprise as she exclaimed.

"Babe!"

Then, M.T. made short, yet gentle work of Crystal, knocking her out with a nerve pinch to the neck before she fainted. With the both of them knocked out, M.T. talked down to Yukon as he began to slip into unconsciousness.

"That's for trying to make Emma your slave."

"Bugger…"

With that, Yukon fell to sleep as Emma looked over to M.T. with a smile. She may not have been too happy with M.T. sneaking into the hut, but thanks to that, M.T. was able to help her that much sooner.

"Phew. Thanks, M.T. I owe you one."

M.T. made a soft scoff with a smirk as she replied.

"Pfft. Emma, you owe me at least five."

Emma and M.T. looked down at Yukon and Crystal as they were sleeping together. Emma had a new perspective thanks to the jam's true purpose. It wasn't real love at all; it was all a product of the jam.

"Well, better late than never. What do we do about Crystal?"

Crystal then began to moan as she cuddled her arms around Yukon like he was a teddy bear. Then, she began to rub her hands all over him and she spoke with lust in her voice.

"Come here, babe."

Emma and M.T. both shuddered at the same time before the latter answered.

"Yeah, I don't think we can help her at this point. Who knows how long she's been here?"

Just then, M.T. looked at the slime left behind by Yukon, seeing it reflect her as she made a shocked gasp. Emma looked over to her in concern as she spoke.

"M.T., are you okay?"

Suddenly, as if to answer, two plain white arms in suits emerged from the reflection before pushing upwards, revealing themselves to only be part of two whole people. They were chrome cops with metallic armor all over their body, as well as latex skin. One of them wore a fedora on his head, and that person looked towards M.T. with a wicked smile.

"Hello, Sliver…"

M.T. made a nervous look as she backed away in fear. At the same time, Emma was just as shocked to see the two of them jump out of Yukon's slime on the floor. Even more shocking was the fact that the two of them seemed to know her. Emma felt she had a right to know as she turned to M.T. in the same worry as her.

"M.T., what's going on here?"

The individual with a fedora looked to Emma, seeing the panic etched on her face. His earlier smirk went away and was replaced with a scowl before looking back to M.T.

"So, it seems you've finally roped someone in on your crime."

This made Emma look at M.T. in disbelief. In the time she knew her, she hadn't done anything wrong. What could she have done to attract them?

"Crime? What is he talking about?"

M.T. couldn't come up with the answer, not when faced with the two chrome cops ready to sand her to pieces. She only acted on her fight-or-flight response, choosing the latter as she replied quickly to her.

"There's no time to explain! We have to go!"

M.T. took her hand and pulled her along, nearly making her drop the jar of jam as the other chrome cop swung his sander right at the two of them, only for them to dodge it as they rushed out the door. The fedora-wearing cop made an angry growl before he shouted to his compatriot.

"After them!"

---

Meanwhile, the old man who had previously warned Emma and M.T. about Yukon was in front of another stand that held several small cubes with a bag of smaller orbs wiggling around inside each of them, where a dark blue slug with bushy whiskers was talking to him in a gruff voice.

"I've got the goods, Jack. What do you have to hold up for your end of the bargain?"

The old man cautiously looked left and right dug into his pocket and got out a small disc-like device before setting it on the stand. It had speakers on both sides and a small orb in the middle.

"Here. Courtesy of the Paradise Car. You can thank Kierra for this model. Not as lethal as the original one the Scarecrows made, but it can make for an exceptional convincing."

The slug picked it up and took a look at it, becoming enamored with the design before he set it gently back down and handed Jack the "goods". They appeared to be two sets of a cube and a beaker of white orbs inside.

"Alright. Here's two tape players and two beakers of memory drones, just like we agreed."

Jack picked up the cubes and set them in his jacket pockets before looking at the beakers. As he did, he made a slight wiggle, seeing the orbs' legs shift with each move he made, as well as a faint squeaking inside them. This appeared to have made him suspicious as he looked over to the seller.

"Where do you get these things, anyway?"

"Let's put it this way. Everyone likes sausage, but no one likes to know how it's made."

Jack took the beakers into his pockets before he gave him a scowl.

"You're a sick, twisted person, you know that?"

"You've got your poison, I got mine. We made a deal."

"Hey, all I'm saying is maybe you should take some time and rethink your life."

Just then, Emma and M.T. shouted behind Jack simultaneously.

"Everyone, get out of the way!"

Jack turned around and saw the two of them being chased by the two chrome cops. And all four of them were headed right for him! Jack turned to the owner, knowing how uncomfortable he is with the fuzz, or any fuzz for that matter as he replied.

"Maybe start now."

The stand owner raised his stubs in panic as he shouted.

"These memory drones aren't mine! I swear! I've been framed!"

But the group of four didn't pay any attention to the owner or Jack. In fact, they just zipped right past them as they ran to their right with Emma picking up a nearby black bag from the stand. Although, while they ran, Jack took a look at the chrome cops and began to see them almost in slow-motion. His eyes widened upon seeing the one wearing a fedora before he ran past him and after Emma and M.T. After a moment of calm, the stand owner took a breath of relief.

"Phew."

However, Jack had to wonder if he saw who he thought he saw.

"Was that…?"

---

Meanwhile, Emma and M.T. were running with both of the chrome cops on their tail. She looked over to the chrome girl, still waiting to hear her explanation as she placed her jam of jar into the bag before putting it on her back.

"I'm serious, M.T.! What the heck is going on here?!"

"I'd explain it to you if we weren't being chased!"

Emma then looked ahead to see two slugs in front of them. As much as she wanted answers, she wanted the both of them alive long enough to get the answers personally even more so.

"Then we'll just have to lose them. Visco!"

Emma dug into her jacket pocket and got out Visco on her open palm before he squeaked at her inquisitively and she addressed him.

"Get us out of here, and hurry!"

Visco squeaked in reply before he turned into a pogo stick, to which Emma handed it to M.T. as she shouted.

"Quick! You take the wheel!"

M.T. didn't need to ask twice. She took her hands on the pogo stick as Emma held onto her and she made a bounce with Visco as a pogo stick, pushing himself high into the air over the two slugs before Visco turned into a bean bag as they fell onto the ground with Visco cushioning their blows before turning back to his slime gerbil form and resting atop Emma's shoulder as she took M.T.'s hand and dragged her into an alleyway she first laid eyes on.

"Come on!"

As they ran there, the two chrome cops only went in-between the two giant slugs, disgusted with the slime on their bodies before they noticed only a larger crowd of slugs as they spoke out to him.

"Wha?"

"What?"

"Huh?"

"Hey."

The fedora-wearing cop growled to himself before his partner spoke out to him.

"What do you think the girl has to do with all this, Mace? I mean, she seemed pretty out of the dark to me."

Mace looked back to his companion with a soft glare as he gave his own two cents.

"So what? She's still guilty of associating herself with a criminal, Sieve. It's not gonna change that."

Little did they know that as Mace and Sieve were looking around, Emma had heard every word they were saying, and she didn't quite like it one bit. She looked back to M.T. with a worried look, hoping that what they were saying wasn't true. They may not have had much time left, but Emma knew it was enough to answer at least one question.

"I don't understand. Why are these guys after you?"

M.T. was aware of how little time they had left herself. All she could do was answer her bluntly before she made sure Mace and Sieve weren't following them.

"Because they think me living my own life is a crime against nature, and they're trying to kill me for it."

Emma widened her eyes in surprise. That was the harshest thing she'd ever heard. And it was even worse to hear it in this circumstance. Of course, she had to keep her voice low, so as not to draw attention.

"What? Why didn't you tell me that before now?"

"I didn't think they'd find me so soon. But I'll tell you the rest as soon as we get out of this."

Emma would've wanted to hear more, but having heard what they wanted to do with her, Emma just couldn't let that happen, especially not when she needed her to help her get back home. She nodded to M.T. with a look of determination before the chrome girl looked at her hand, seeing the reflection of Mace and Sieve talking to a slug as he told them what they needed to know.

"Right there."

Mace and Sieve both turned behind them. In almost no time at all, M.T. gasped as a mop suddenly fell on her, covering her head to appear as though she had hair. In annoyance, she got the mop off her before turning to Emma.

"Emma, can you tell Visco to get us out of here again?"

Visco only squeaked in another reply as he turned into a ladder and stretched himself up to the rooftop of the building beside them before she retracted her question.

"Huh. Never mind."

And just in time, too, for Mace and Sieve had the both of them cornered as the latter spoke to them.

"Dead end, Sliver."

Emma and M.T. proved them wrong quickly. They climbed up on Visco, making Sieve gasp at their targets getting away as Mace tried to use his sander on Visco, only for the ladder to move upwards quickly and for the weapon to slash at the wall, just missing his legs. In the process, Emma and M.T. were both lifted up along with it before they got to the rooftop and began running from there as Visco shrunk back to normal once again. However, Mace and Sieve were just as persistent as their prey.

"Maneuver 406."

"Got it, buddy."

While Sieve went the other way, Mace ran into a puddle before jumping on it, only to sink inside the puddle with a splash.

Up above, Emma and M.T. were still running on the rooftop. She looked to her friend as she spoke up, despite her being almost out of breath.

"Are they still following us?"

M.T. looked behind her, seeing that neither of them were chasing after the two of them. She turned over to Emma as she answered.

"Nope. Unless they can climb."

Unfortunately, Mace proved that he can. Suddenly, he burst out from a puddle near Emma and M.T. before grabbing the latter by the back of her shirt and slamming her to the ground, making Emma turn to her in fear.

"M.T.!"

Mace leaned in closer to M.T. as she struggled to get him off of her.

"Leave me alone!"

"Not until you're ground into dust."

Just then, Jack's voice rang out from behind Emma and Mace before walking toward the latter and past Emma as he took off his sunglasses and looked down on Mace with a light shining behind him.

"Excuse me. May I cut in?"

Emma took notice of him as he walked over towards Emma, Mace, and M.T. She had a look of confusion, wondering how he managed to get up, along with what he's getting closer to them for.

"It's you again…"

Mace seemed to know him too well as he made a glare.

"So, we finally meet again, eh?"

Jack only raised an eyebrow before he spoke to him.

"Do we? I get around the neighborhood a lot lately, so I wouldn't know. Maybe you could tell me. Do I know you from somewhere?"

Mace's hands tensed as he spoke with venom in his voice.

"You should know…"

Jack only rolled his eyes at his vague reply before he made his own.

"Well, if it's going to be like that…"

With that, Jack looked over to M.T. before he nodded to her, and then, M.T. kicked Mace in the chin with her boot, followed by a punch of brass knuckles to the face from Jack before she took off with Emma.

"Let's get out of here!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!"

As Emma and M.T. ran away, Jack looked to the two of them with confusion in his eyebrows.

"What? Not even a thank-you?"

Meanwhile, Mace got up with a growl before he immediately ran to catch up with Emma and M.T., making Jack realize the hunt wasn't over yet.

"Oh, right. That guy."

Jack ran to catch up with Mace before he leapt at him, pinning him to the ground as he spoke.

"Oh, no, you don't. You and I are gonna have a talk."

"Talk is cheap, Jacky-boy."

With that, Mace put his hand on the puddle before slipping into it, retreating from Jack's grasp. With Mace out of reach, Jack looked at the puddle, stunted by the fact that he was capable of going inside puddles like this.

"Well, that's annoying."

Sadly, there wasn't much he could do about it. Then, he thought back to Emma and M.T. as he looked to their direction.

"Now where did those kids get to?"

---

Meanwhile, down below, Sieve was making his way around the crowd of slugs, inadvertently irritating them as he tried to follow M.T. and Emma from below.

"Hey, watch it!"

"Oh! Hey!"

But as he ran with his eyes locked on M.T. and Emma, he tripped over a barrel of fruit, much to his embarrassment before seeing a chain link in front of him. Recovering from his fall, Sieve got back up and ran into it, sinking into the chain before it dangled from the brief force shown.

Up above, Emma and M.T. slid to a stop before either one of them could fall to the ground, seeing the exit door was just beneath them under countless ropes that connected the building they stood on to the other. Emma looked over to M.T., having an idea as she looked over to Visco.

"Hey, Visco. Can you help us out again?"

Visco gave her a squeak in reply, although it sounded more tired than the last few times he did. In spite of it, Visco shifted into something simple: a small zipline. Getting the gist, Emma looked over to the ropes, seeing how it would fit with the plan despite the decor before she turned to M.T. and handed the zipline to her.

"We'll have to zipline down, M.T."

They may not have a choice. Mace emerged from a puddle behind them and engaged his pursuit against them.

"Works for me."

M.T. took hold of the zipline before Emma held onto her again, and the two of them jumped. Visco hooked himself onto the ropes and fit himself along with the decor so as not to slow down with Emma and M.T. on board of him. They were about to reach the exit door, but Sieve's hands burst out of the decor and grabbed M.T.'s arm, making her shout as Emma got out her hunting knife from her pocket and stabbed it on the latex skin, trying to force it off while holding onto M.T.'s neck, knowing she was incapable of being choked due to her hard skin.

"Hey! Let go of her!"

The decor only responded by having another arm burst out of it, knocking the decor and the zipline off of the rope as Emma screamed before M.T. tossed the decor away and she switched places with Emma so that she's on top of her while she landed hard on the ground, leaving a hole on it with a thud. Once the two of them had landed, Emma looked at M.T. with a blush, realizing how close the two of them were before M.T. blushed the same way. After a short while, though, Emma quickly got off of M.T. and the both of them headed towards the exit, determined to lose Mace and Sieve as the decor broke apart before they rose up from the shards. They looked left and right, seeing that neither of them were to be seen as Mace growled to himself.

"We can't lose her, not again!"

"Well, it's obvious where they went, right?"

Sieve pointed to the door before Mace nodded to him with a grunt and they headed right for it. But as they approached the door, they were unaware that Jack was watching from above where Emma and M.T. jumped off.

---

Meanwhile, Emma and M.T. were quick to open the next door in front of them without a second thought before they caught their momentary breath with their hands on their knees. When they did, they found themselves surrounded by trees with red and yellow leaves. The floor seemed to appear to be made of the same leaves as well. And with the multitude of leaves, Emma had a feeling this would be a good place to hide.

"I think we lost them, but we better make sure. See any good places to hide?"

M.T. lifted her head up to look for a hiding place, only to see numerous branches around them, along with a deer that stared at the two of them before chewing on a leaf pile beneath him and laying down. Seeing not much else, M.T. turned her head to Emma before answering.

"No."

Just then, they heard the door beginning to open behind them. Emma and M.T. quickly hid behind that same deer, huddled together. But when they got there, they realized how horrible the idea was, but they both knew they had limited options to begin with.

"Why did we hide behind the deer?"

"Let's just hope it's enough."

Just then, the deer went into camouflage mode and made himself invisible. Unfortunately, it seemed to expose Emma and M.T. as the latter grew confused while the passenger widened her eyes.

"Huh?"

"We're so screwed."

Just then, the door opened before Mace and Sieve entered the car as the latter called them out with a cowboy accent.

"There's no escape, Sliver. We got you two cornered. And I just love cutting corners."

Sieve then pushed a button, turning the sander on before Mace pushed him out of the way, causing him to turn the sander off before he looked around the scenery for any sign of M.T. Emma held her breath, silently praying that he wouldn't see the two of them. After a moment of suspense, her prayers appeared to have been answered.

"Humiliating. She's gone. Again…"

Mace tossed his toothpick away in frustration before Sieve went up to comfort him.

"Don't worry, Mace. We'll get her."

Mace moved his arm away with a grunt before he responded coldly.

"I know that! Slivers are weak, think they're above the law. The law that keeps our barrier intact. And it should stay intact. No matter the cost…"

M.T. cringed in fear, alerting Emma to her fear. Did they really scare her that much beyond the obvious? And what did she just get herself into? She hoped the two of them would just go away so she could get those answers. They seemed to be taking too much of their time as Sieve spoke to him again.

"And what about that girl who went with her? That passenger?"

"She made her choice. But it's not like she can help her out much. I doubt anyone could."

As Mace continued to speak about M.T. while getting a small capsule to open it and select a new toothpick, Emma put on a glare with her eyes leering through the camouflage and at him as she tensed her hands into fists.

"They all get tired, and they let their guard down, think they're safe. They're never safe."

M.T. winced in fear again, much to Emma's anger before she spoke to herself.

"Over my dead body…"

Just then, Sieve spoke out to Mace. He knew the two of them couldn't have gone far.

"Well, I guess we should get on through this car and-"

"Nope. Your suit is compromised."

Sieve looked at his wrist, seeing the tear that came from when Emma tried to force his arm off of M.T. She didn't hold back on the stab, though it didn't do more than ripping it apart.

"Whoops! Oh, yeah. Thanks, buddy. This tear gets too big, I'm a goner."

Emma overheard this and looked at her hunting knife. She saw the essence that got onto it when she tried to help M.T. get free. It was a liquid matter that was in the same color as the two chrome cops. Could that be their blood? Were their suits just holding them together? It was a freaky concept to think about. Regardless, Emma held her knife at the ready while Mace spoke to Sieve.

"I'm fully aware. We'll do one more sweep, then head back to the station."

M.T. then peeped her head out from over the deer before Emma did the same, still holding her knife tight if they should turn their heads around. Sieve spoke to Mace again as Visco took his turn to peep from the deer.

"On the upside, the last couple of months tracking her have been a great, truly great bonding experience."

"Enough."

"Yeah! Yeah, I should shut up. You got it, buddy."

With that, the door closed before the both of them drew a breath of relief from their initial chase. In an instant after that, the deer went out of its camouflage and looked at the two of them while Visco squeaked in surprise. Emma and M.T. stood in surprise themselves as they awkwardly raised their hands.

"Uh… hi."

"Thanks for the save."

The deer didn't return an answer as it simply stared at the two of them and blinked its eyes. Emma and M.T. weren't sure how to deal with the uncomfortable silence, so they tried to cut it short as Visco hopped back onto Emma's shoulder with a squeak.

"So, uh… see you around."

"Bye."

The two of them walked away from the deer, but it didn't stop the deer from looking at them. Its gaze kept on watching, as if it was drawn to Emma and M.T.

While they were walking through the forest, Emma remembered that M.T. was going to explain her situation as she brushed Visco gently on his back with her fingers. After the chase they had, an explanation was long overdue.

"So, now that we can catch our breath, what was all that about? What did you mean when you said living your life is a crime against nature?"

M.T. made a soft sigh, not sure how to explain the rest of the story. Nonetheless, she had to tell her eventually.

"Well, exactly what I said. Truth is, I'm from a place called the Chrome car."

Emma raised an eyebrow in confusion. While it did sum up how she appeared the way she did, it struck her as odd how it came to be called that.

"'The Chrome car?' Really?"

"Well, that's what Tulip, my prime, called it."

Emma hadn't heard Tulip being called that the last time she mentioned her, so that term was new to her.

"Your… prime?"

"Basically, the person I'm supposed to reflect. But I'm what you would say, permanently off-duty. Tulip helped me take a break from that."

Emma recalled then what she last said about her friends, about how they helped her live her own life. Apparently, what she meant was they helped her be free.

"Oh, right. You said that before."

"Anyway, it's actually called the Mirror World."

Hearing this, Emma became amazed to no end. That explained why her skin was so chrome it could reflect everything. But it really wasn't anything new for M.T.

"The Mirror World? Whoa…"

"Yeah, don't go there. It sucks. That's where those Flecs are from. I hate those guys."

Emma somehow had a feeling she knew who she was talking about.

"You mean those cops that were trying to kill you?"

"Uh, yeah! They've been chasing me, because I-I don't want to spend the rest of my life as somebody's refl—"

Before M.T. could finish, she and Emma heard footsteps behind them, turning around to see none other than the same deer from before. It was still chewing a leaf before it walked over towards them. Emma and M.T. couldn't help but find it odd for it to follow them. She was telling the deer not to follow before Visco corrected her with a squeak.

"Uh, it's nice that you want to come with, but three— uh, four is a crowd."

"Yeah, sorry. We're good here."

The duo then walked away from the deer before they looked all around them, admiring the scenery of the car they stumbled into as Emma got back to the topic.

"I don't understand. Why is letting you experience all this against the law? What did they have against that?"

M.T. couldn't agree more with her. But that didn't mean there wasn't a reason, if it can be called that.

"Right? But apparently, it upsets the 'barrier' between my world and yours. But I haven't seen anything like that since I've been—"

Suddenly, Emma and M.T. tripped over to the ground. The two of them looked behind to see the same deer again. M.T. was miffed over how it tripped them with its snout.

"Hey! Come on, we're walking! You go do your thing and we'll do ours!"

Surprised as she was to get tripped, Emma stood up and brushed the leaves off of her as she defended the deer.

"Take it easy, M.T. It did help us hide from those Flecs. Besides, it didn't know any better."

Emma took a second to rethink that statement. The deer did follow the two of them.

"Did you?"

The deer made no answer as it simply stared at them. After a short moment, M.T. became curious about the deer's reason for following them.

"Why are you still here?"

Again, the deer did not answer her. But it did puff out air with a snort before shaking its ear. Emma began to have a theory as she walked over to it.

"We can't say no to you, can we?"

The deer shook his head, wiggling his ears for a bit before Emma brushed her hand on his back. She and M.T. began to smile as the chrome girl picked up a few leaves from the ground.

"You like this stuff, huh?"

M.T. gave the deer the leaves before it chowed down on them. Emma couldn't help but smile as she looked over to her friend.

"Huh. Looks like you've got your companion, too."

M.T. raised her eyebrow in confusion.

"What?"

"Yeah. You have this deer, and I have Visco."

Visco squeaked in confirmation before M.T. began to blush.

"Well, yeah, but… I mean, I'm no passenger."

Emma saw the blush on her face and made a gentle laugh before she made a callback to when she laughed at her.

"And you said I was cute."

Emma continued to laugh before M.T.'s face softened. Although, she still had something on her mind. She couldn't understand how they were having a serious conversation, only for it to turn into this.

"I… really don't get you. Aren't you worried about those Flecs?"

Emma felt it didn't need to be asked as she sat down on a pile of leaves by a tree.

"Of course I am. They just popped out of nowhere, a lot. I figured anyone would be scared of that."

M.T. sat down by Emma before she corrected her on that description.

"Well, thing is, they don't come from nothing, though. The Flecs can show up in any reflection. It's like Mace said: I'm never safe."

Emma recalled then when she smashed the mirror back at the Hunter's Lodge. Frankly, it turned out to be the right thing to do. They had enough problems without the Flecs.

"So that's why you smashed that mirror. Back at the Lodge. I thought you were just scared of those Hunters."

Emma then looked at M.T.'s body and became confused, seeing her own reflection on it.

"Oh, but your body's reflective. Can't they jump out of that?"

"Pfft. People can't jump out of people. It doesn't work that way."

"How do you know?"

"Well, they haven't jumped out of me yet, have they?"

Just then, the deer set itself on top of Emma and M.T.'s laps before the latter brushed its head gently with a smile. Then she remembered the deal Emma made with the shady slug as she noticed Emma's black sling bag she snatched during the chase. It still held the jar of jam inside, and in all the excitement she forgot all about it.

"Emma, I'm sorry about your tape. I know how much you wanted to get it."

Emma herself then remembered that she'd forgotten all about it. It was a hard knock on her plans. But she can't risk going back if the Flecs are still doing a sweep, especially not with how much they scared M.T. She can't take that risk, especially not after that fiasco. All she cared about in that moment was that M.T. was safe.

"It's okay, M.T. It's like you said: there's always another car around the corner."

M.T. made a laugh herself before she called her out on it.

"Boo! Bad joke!"

"Yeah, your joke."

Emma and M.T. then shared a laugh together as they looked out all over the scenery, unaware that their hands were touching each other.

---

Later, M.T. was climbing on a tree as she called out to the deer while pointing to the two leaf branches above her.

"Okay, this one, or this one?"

The deer made no reply as Emma spoke up to her.

"I don't think he cares either way."

M.T. made a sigh and talked to herself.

"Of course, he doesn't."

M.T. then took a branch off and jumped down from the tree with a thud. Not long after, the deer ended up being so hungry that it began to gnaw on a bump on the tree, only for Emma to stop him as she backed him up before M.T. suggested a different alternative.

"Okay, let's not do that."

She then handed out a leaf for the deer to chew on, which it accepted. After that, M.T. was lying by the pile of leaves while Emma leaned against the tree as the deer was chewing on some leaves. As it was chewing, it suddenly turned blue, catching them by surprise before M.T. piped up in amazement.

"Nice! What other colors can you-?"

To answer, the deer turned back to its normal color, thereby answering her question.

"Oh, okay. Brown again."

Later, Emma and M.T. looked out at the background beside the deer. The sun was apparently beginning to set itself on the horizon. Emma couldn't remember the last time she saw a horizon like that back home.

"Wow… it looks so amazing."

"Emma's right. You've got a nice home."

Emma was inclined to agree. There aren't any mirrors here for the Flecs to pop out of, and there aren't too many people here to bother him. Emma knew it must be M.T.'s kind of place. The deer then began to scratch its head with its leg before M.T. gently scratched its head to help him out.

---

Later in the night, Emma and M.T. were lying down by the deer, staring at the sky above them with her sling pack beside the deer. It wasn't like Emma's night sky back home; it looked just like a painting of the sky. And although M.T. was sleeping like a log, Emma was having trouble. Unlike her, she wasn't used to sleeping on a pile of leaves. And her skin could feel how cold it was. In those terms, Emma was at a great disadvantage. Still, she found it best not to bug M.T. about it as she tried to find a way to get comfortable.

Of course, there was no such luck. She continued to toss and turn, finding no position comfortable enough to sleep in. Later, Emma put her arms inside her jacket and zipped it up before putting her legs inside it, making a makeshift cocoon for her. Unfortunately, even that didn't succeed in giving her the comfort she wanted as it made her legs feel cramped. Emma shifted her body over and over in various positions before her hand began to feel something. It felt so soft, Emma began to go closer towards it. For a time, she nestled herself against it, feeling the warmth of the source as she gave a soft moan. Emma would've enjoyed it longer if she hadn't heard M.T. snoring next to her.

"Huh? What the…?"

As if that wasn't a rude awakening enough, Emma looked down to where her hand felt something warm. It turned out that her hand was feeling her crotch. When she realized this, she began to blush hard. But her blush became even worse when she saw a bulge coming from M.T.'s pants. Emma knew right away when she saw this. She saw it back when she was undressing herself, too. Emma quickly rolled away from M.T. as she made a small high-pitched squeal of embarrassment before she curled up into a ball and spoke to herself, afraid of what M.T. would think if she heard about it. Her brain was in full-on panic mode.

"Oh, my gosh. I just touched her crotch. She was trans, and I just touched her crotch…! Why did I do that? What's she going to think? Does she even know?"

Emma looked behind her to see that despite the momentary cuddle, M.T. was still snoozing like a log, if her snoring was any consolation. Emma drew out her breath quietly in relief, but there was still one problem: how was she going to go back to sleep? She can't get that close to M.T., or she'd never hear the end of it. And this new knowledge that came to Emma's mind wasn't going to let her, either. Personally, she had no problem with it, but the fear that M.T. would find out that she touched her where she shouldn't have was still going to haunt her. It's one stressful event after another; Emma didn't know how much more she could take. And if she ever found out, that'll be the least of her problems.

"Oh, how am I gonna be able to sleep now? I can't let M.T. know that I know. She'd think I played with it, and then she'll hate me for that… And then I'll be alone again."

Emma looked at the number on her hand then, seeing that it had gone up slightly to "202". That only added to her situation as she spoke to herself.

"And my number's still high. How could this get any worse…?"

Emma felt as though she'd dug her own grave. If only she could forget, then maybe this situation wouldn't be likely to happen anytime soon. Then, she remembered something she'd inadvertently packed with her during the chase. She reached over for her sling pack and opened it up before getting out a jar full of Passion Fruit Jam. She had just remembered then what Yukon told her about it.

"By itself, it helps connect people, but if you mix it with this chamomile tea in particular, it helps you forget your stress, more specifically… what caused it."

Sadly, there wasn't any chamomile tea mix in the pack to help her forget that she played with M.T.'s rod. But if Yukon was right about it connecting people, then it'll at least help put her at ease. She saw how Crystal and Yukon were around each other. If she and M.T. were to taste that jam, odds are, she'd be more willing to forgive Emma for the misunderstanding. It's a risky gambit, but in the face of the possibility of not being able to go back home, let alone the risk of making her mad, it's a risk worth taking. Of course, she took into account what would happen if she ate too much of it: she'd end up like Crystal.

"Right, the jam. If I used that, M.T. won't hate me. But I gotta play it safe. I don't want to end up going crazy."

Emma had opened the jar and put a dab of it on her finger. She wanted to test it out on M.T. first to be certain it wouldn't drive her too crazy. Her finger hovered over M.T.'s mouth before she cautiously slid it onto her mouth. Following this, M.T. began to feel it on her tongue before swallowing it and making a soft moaning sound. Emma made a soft smile, feeling the weight being lifted off of her before she took another dab on her finger and spoke to herself softly.

"And now for me. Here's hoping it turns out okay."

Emma tasted the jam herself next. When she did, she felt the flavor of it invade her mouth; it was reminiscent of wild cherries. The more she tasted this flavor, the more she began to calm down as her mind began to go numb from the taste.

"Whoa… what's happening? I-I can't think straight… What was I thinking about?"

Emma then began to lay by M.T. as she made a soft laugh before she spoke to herself.

"Hey… it's working. Maybe I… I can finally sleep with you again."

Emma began to lean closer to M.T. with a giggle as she wrapped her arms around her. Emma began to snuggle closer, her chest and crotch touching against both of M.T.'s before the chrome girl began to moan softly. The feel of Emma's body being around her was beginning to prove very effective as she began to call out to her in her sleep.

"Please touch me… I want it so bad…"

Emma overheard this and began to put on a lustful smile as she spoke softly.

"You want it that bad?"

M.T. moaned softly as she answered.

"Ahhh, yes…"

Emma looked down over her body and saw her crotch rubbing against M.T.'s rod. But unlike before where she was stressed out, Emma seemed to be eager to play with it.

"Alright, but only because you asked."

With that, Emma put herself on top of M.T., her region precisely above hers before she gently began moving it in a slow manner. The movement made M.T. moan softly in her sleep as she spoke.

"Oh, yeah, just like that…"

Emma herself then began to moan as she felt the sensation flooding her womanhood. The feeling of her warm rod began to excite her more than ever.

"Wow… you feel amazing down there, M.T…"

Unable to resist those feelings, Emma began to pick up the rhythm in humping M.T. as she made soft breaths with each move she made. In turn, that began to excite M.T. in her sleep as her moans started to grow louder.

"Oh, yes…! Please don't stop…!"

Emma had no plans to do that. Her mind was focused on her rod and the pleasure she can afford it, nothing more than that at the moment. In response, she picked up the pace even further as she began to moan in brief pants of pleasure and began to feel something building up inside her as she spoke in pauses.

"I. Can't. Stop. I. Won't. Stop. I. Don't. Want. To… Ahh…!"

It wasn't her decision to make. Emma began to moan loudly as her region began to wet itself on M.T.'s rod through her pants, causing her to moan along with her. Emma then began to fall on top of M.T., letting slumber claim her as she panted her breath on M.T.'s face with a soft chuckle before she spoke softly.

"I'll be right here for you, babe. Because I love you..."

Emma then placed a soft kiss on her right cheek before she gave out one last moan and closed her eyes. Then, M.T,'s arms began to hold Emma tight before M.T. spoke softly in her sleep.

"I love you, too…"

A/N: And there it is. I hope you found it to your liking. For the cast in this chapter, the guest stars are as follows.

Grey Griffin - Sales Slug

Ricky Gervais - Yukon

Jennifer Hale - Crystal

George Clooney - Jack

Sam Marin - Sales Slug 2

And now, on to business. As Book 4 is going to be the final one (so far), I realized there's a lot I wanted to do before then. So, I plan on creating a new story that will coincide with the first four Books and shall become Books 5-8. These Books will be part of my future story "Tales of the Infinity Train". And unfortunately, it calls for a change to the planned release date for Book 3: The Apex Predator. The titles for the books will be as follows in the long run.

Book 5: "Paradise Found" (Kierra and Summer's Story)

Book 6: "Family" (Ava, Amelia, and Hazel's Story)

Book 7: "Missing" (Maria Tabitha and Lucy's Story)

Book 8: "Fear Itself" (Carper's Story)

Beyond these titles and their protagonists, I can't say much else, but I do hope it helps cushion the blow HBO Max has dealt us. I hope you all have a good day. Oh, and you can bet that things will become more complicated between Emma and M.T. later on. ;)